Medinah

Tiger, Davis and the Elusive Ryder Cup, at Medinah/Reuters/Jeff Haynes

For a while Tiger Woods reigned supreme over the golfing world, winning his 74 PGA Tour titles, including 14 Majors, but he has been unable to extend his golfing panache to the biennial competition that pits the U.S. best against Europe’s best. His performances at the Ryder Cup have been pretty average, some have even labeled him, Mr Joe Average, and on Tuesday Tiger accepted the responsibility for the dismal U.S. showing for the past 15 years. Tiger’s mediocre record of 13-14-2 from six Ryder Cup contests does not enhance the otherwise brilliant resume of Eldrick Tont Woods, who has only been able to celebrate just one team win from six Ryder Cup appearances. Tiger reported;

“Well, certainly I am responsible for that because I didn’t earn the points that I was put out there for. I believe I was out there, what, in five sessions each time and I didn’t go 5-0 on our side. So I certainly am a part of that and that’s part of being a team. I needed to go get my points for my team and I didn’t do that. Hopefully I can do that this week, and hopefully the other guys can do the same and we can get this thing rolling. I’ve always loved coming here, I enjoy playing in Chicago and for some reason, I’ve just had a lot of success here. I don’t know what it is but I seem to be very, very comfortable here.”

Like this:

US Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III has intimated that Europe’s players should be prepared to expect a fiery reception from the packed home galleries as the USA Team battle to win back the Ryder Cup. Davis is a veteran of the infamously hostile crowds at Brookline 13 years ago, he said;

“When we travel over there it’s tough on us, and when they travel over here it’s tough on them. Chicago is an incredible sports town, and they are going to be fired up. The first tee could be the loudest any of these guys have ever seen. I expect a lot of passion, if we’re winning holes it’s going to get pretty loud out there, and that’s what home-field advantage is all about. We’ll try to get them going loud in our favour.”

Davis replied to suggestions that he has set the Medinah course up to favour his team;

” How do you get an advantage? we have 24 of the best players in the world, they are all pretty good at adapting to conditions. One thing I’ve never liked is rough. But the fans want to see a little excitement. They want to see birdies. We want to let these unbelievable athletes free-wheel it a little bit and just play. Medinah is such a big, long golf course, and I don’t think we wanted a lot of rough. It’s still going to be tough. But without the deep rough, it saves us the chip-outs and the grinding-it-out style of golf.”

“I don’t see it as a disadvantage. We have always been a close team, and we have been in touch through the phone. They are all going to be there by the time I get to the hotel today. I think the teams are pretty much even, and I think it’s going to be a close match. There are no favorites. It’s obviously completely different to 15 years ago. Now they play over here, they are very familiar with the golf courses over here, with their opponents. They feel more comfortable about the whole situation of coming here to play the Ryder Cup. They realize that over the years they have been able to compete against the players here, and that boosts your confidence, which is a very important thing when you’re playing matchplay. This is a new Ryder Cup, we’re playing here against a very strong team, we’re playing away, the crowds will be rooting for the home team really strong so we have to be prepared for that. I’ve said it all along, I think the teams are pretty much even, and I think it’s going to be a close match. There are no favorites.”

There is a rumor that Jose will a pay a tribute to the late Seve Ballesteros by wearing Seve style trademark navy jumper and trousers and white polo shirt for Sunday’s singles matches, Jose did not confirm this story but simply said;

“I talked to Davis about that and he was very understanding. Seve is going to be there in our team in some way or form. We are going to miss him a lot. It’s the first time he is not going to be with us, and he was a special man.”

Ian Poulter of England and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were named by captain Jose Maria Olazabal as Europe’s two wildcard picks for next month’s Ryder Cup at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois. Jose spoke at a press conference at Gleneagles, Scotland, he said,

“Every one of you pretty much guessed Ian was going to be there. That was not a difficult pick because he has a great Ryder Cup record and he’s playing well. He had some issues earlier this season when he got ill and couldn’t play as much as he wanted. But his attitude and his spirit in the Ryder Cup has always been great and he is a player that likes to be in that environment. It gets the best out of him. At Valhalla in 2008 and at Celtic Manor in 2010 you didn’t need to motivate him. Just by looking into his eyes you could tell he was going to give everything he had.”

Nicolas isone of the longest hitters on the European Tour, and will become the first Belgian to play in the Ryder Cup. Captain Olazabal explained his reasons for picking the Belgian Bomber;

“Nicolas has shown a lot of heart, a lot of character, and I think he has got the game and the desire to do well. It’s also a long course at Medinah and he can take advantage of that, he will be suited to it. He has had a very solid season and on top of that he has made the extra effort to try and get in the team, that showed me he wants to be a part of it. Nicolas is going to be the only rookie in an experienced team but his match play record is very good, he won the World Match Play Championship in Spain this year.”

Among those who missed out on selection were Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Paul Casey, Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson. Jose said he had called the disappointed players;

“I talked to the next few guys on the points list, David Lynn, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Alvaro Quiros and Padraig. I made those phone calls and it wasn’t easy. They were disappointed not to make the team but they all took my decision well. Padraig played well at the US Masters, finishing eighth, he also had a good US Open and a good Irish Open, but he is 19th on the points list and he was just a little bit too far down. I know he’s a great player and I would have loved to have him in the team, in the same way I’d have loved to have Paul Casey, Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, but you need to be playing well too,”

Jose has stated that the European Team and the American Team, captained by Davis Love III, are evenly matched for the contest at Medinah, even though Europe won 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 in the previous edition of the competition at Celtic Manor, Wales.

“Both teams are strong and I don’t see that there is a favorite. But the support of the home crowd will be massive to the U.S. They will also set up the course the way they want and we are going to have to play really well to have a chance to win.The atmosphere will be electrifying so I need to prepare my players for that and make sure they don’t allow themselves to be bothered by it. Luckily the guys have the experience to make that easier. We are playing great opponents but anything can happen.”